Urban biosphere : low-tech innovations developed by students

Écologie intégraleHigher EducationIntegral EcologyNantesOuest
24 Jul 2024

The Low-Tech apartment is the new adventure in which Corentin de Chatelperron (Icam engineer) has invited our students from Nantes and Grand Paris Sud to take part.

As a reminder, low-tech is an experimental field of research which aims to develop ecological and frugal solutions to satisfy our basic needs (what we find in the biosphere).
After the ocean, the tropical climate and the desert, the Low-Tech Lab team tackled the urban environment by equipping an apartment in Boulogne, for a unique four-month experiment.
4th year students from the Icam Nantes site and Grand Paris Sud, as part of the thematic module of the student program, developed 5 low-tech innovation projects which were installed in the Biosphere :

•  Maxence, Clémence, Kevin, designed the apartment’s intranet. This low-tech WiFi relies on a local network for more rational data consumption.
• Rémi, Hugo, Adrien,have designed the 12V electrical network.
• Loup, Simon, Théo, have created a solar electric cooker.
• Gabriel et Alexandre went to the apartment to deliver the washing-machine rowing machine.
• Enfin, Manon et Justin, who studied the apartment’s hygrometry and ventilation. The end result of their work includes the spirulina pond for its thermal inertia (which cools or warms the air depending on irrigation), intelligent ventilation, and opaque and breathable blinds.

The cocotte of the future, more sustainable and eco-responsible

Since the start of the experiment in July, Corentin de Chatelperron and Caroline Pultz (eco-designer) have been cooking with a solar electric cooker imagined and designed with Icam students to explore new ways of living. This cooker of the future combines 3 principles: pressure cooker, Norwegian kettle and solar electric cooker. It is heated by resistances and connected to solar panels. This means it consumes 5 to 10 times less energy than conventional cooking.
Find out more about this cocotte of the future on their instagram page !

This adventure will be the subject of a forthcoming Arte webseries.

Find out more : www.biosphere-experience.org